The long awaited return of Tottenham Hotspur star attacking midfielder James Maddison is finally right around the corner after his torn ACL late in the 2024/25 season, and his reintroduction to a team threatened with relegation could not come at a better time, especially with the other No. 10, Xavi Simons, now out for the foreseeable future with a torn ACL of his own.
Maddison was the team's chief creative architect besides wide man Son Heung-min last season, enjoying a successful season en route to the Europa League title. A long time star of the Premier League, Maddison brings the kind of veteran leadership and proven quality that Spurs have really missed this season with a sea of injuries.
When Maddison was last playing for Tottenham last season, Spurs finished 17th in the Premier League and already had serious issues in the middle of the park. It's why they tried bringing in Joao Palhinha, Conor Gallagher, and Simons as new faces to begin with.
Tottenham's midfield is in shambles
But a year lafter, with Maddison on the verge of returning potentially against Leeds United, Madders enters uncharted territory to a Tottenham midfield that has completely fallen apart. New manager Roberto De Zerbi has cobbled together the veterans to form something salvageable, somehow getting improved play out of Rodrigo Bentancur and Gallagher in a starting XI alongside the mercurial Yves BIssouma.
None of those guys, even in good form, is a starting caliber player for a Premier League Big Six club. So when James Maddison returns from his injury, he may be the only top midfielder standing, and that's assuming he still has the juice after a devastating knee injury.
Being the leading face of this midfield is a tall task for Maddison, and he wil have to bridge that group and a front line that has been quit atrocious this season, showing no real signs of growth under De Zerbi either. Mathys Tel returning to the starting XI would obviously help matters, but it's also not like Tel is ready to be a true star at the highest level either.
Tottenham fans will be very happy to see a healthy Maddison back out there, but his return leads to this sobering reflection that Spurs, who were already terrible in the Premier League last season, are markedly worse in the areas that matter most a year later. And hence they are reliant on these desperation ploys like Maddison back from an ACL tear to be the catalyst that saves them from relegation.
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